Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Pantami and the Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Prof Umar Danbatta have highlighted gains of the 5G network as MAFAB communications rolled out 5G services.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony of MAFAB 5G networks in Abuja on Tuesday, Pantami reiterated that the Gross Domestic Product of the nation has increased by 594 per cent following the laudable contribution of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector.
“On 17 and 18th of October 2022, a ministry performance review was organised by our principal, President Muhammadu Buhari, where all the ministries were evaluated by independent assessors in collaboration with the Office of the Secretary to the Federation. The contribution to the economy from the baseline given to me when I came into office in August 2019, we were able to increase revenue generation by ICT sector by 594 per cent. This is unprecedented in the history of Nigeria. And the quarterly generation by the ICT sector as of when I took over was around N51 billion but today it is around N408 billion and it is still increasing. And with the deployment of the 5G, there are still many opportunities that will come on board. So the benefits of the 5G network deployment is beyond just quality of service,” Pantami said.
On his part, the EVC NCC, Prof Danbatta said Nigeria’s journey to embracing the 5G network will not be possible without the support of President Muhammadu Buhari and relevant stakeholders in the telecom industry.
Earlier, the Chairman/Founder of MAFAB Communications, Dr Mushabu Bashir, said the takeoff of the MAFAB 5G network highlights Nigeria’s strengths and limitless potential.
“The 5G technology is not just a mobile network but represents a new culture, in a new era of connectivity where billions of devices exchange data and instil intelligence in our everyday life. It creates new, intelligent systems; and it can help to develop new advanced manufacturing models. I cannot forget to mention the prospect of increased job opportunities as a consequence of the value-chain benefits the technology will generate and offer. That is the dream we have all gathered here to launch today,” he stated.
MAFAB Communications is one of the three companies that won the bidding for the 5G 3.5GHz spectrum licenses in Nigeria.
